Saying Goodbye
by crystalbutterfly84
Summary: One-shot, post Breaking Dawn. Years and years after the final confrontation, Nessie returns to Forks to visit her family. But this visit is a little more important than the last. In memory of my grandfather.


**This is a one-shot I came up with after I heard some sad news. I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight Saga.**

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**Saying Goodbye**

_Every candle eventually goes out, but the room stays bright_.

Or so I thought as I sat in the back of my father's car, driving along the deserted highway. It was grey and overcast, with no sun shining through the thick clouds. On the side of the road the trees were slightly wet, remanent of the recent shower.

In the passenger's seat of the car, Jacob sat there, making small talk with my father. I did my best to block out their voices, instead focusing on each individual raindrop that slid down the window, watching the way the light reflected off it. I didn't want to talk. At times like this, I never did.

It was summer break. Jacob and I had gone back to college last year like we did every so often and now we were back in Forks for a week, like we did every single year. And like all those years, we had to make a visit to someone special.

Mom, Dad, my whole family, even Jacob's pack, would be waiting for us when we arrived. I knew these past few months everyone had been staying in Forks particularly. We were all connected through this. Through him.

Noticing that the car had stopped, I looked up straight into my father's eyes. I'd moved to Alaska to go to college and Mum and Dad had let me, but I hadn't been home since the year started. This was my first time seeing my whole family in a long time.

Trying to keep my mind blank and not let any of my sadness seep through my barriers so dad would know, I opened the car door.

"Nessie!" My mother ran towards me from the top step of the old house, hugging my neck tightly. If vampires could cry, I'm sure she would be right now. This was a difficult time for her.

"Mom, it's alright. I'm home," I said, hugging her back.

Dad came around from the driver's seat of the car and hugged us both while my mom continued to shed her dry tears. He kissed my forehead as I saw the rest of my family come out to the front of the house.

I greeted all my family members, most of whom, like Emmett and Rosalie, I hadn't seen in a year or two since they had been staying in various spots around the world. But now, we had all come together.

Each time I said hello, I noticed how low my voice sounded. In reality, it was probably only a subtle difference, one that was barely noticeable. However, I did notice my father give me an odd look. Though why it was any different to the other times, I wasn't sure. Jacob also kept a tight arm around my shoulders throughout the exchange, until finally, we moved inside.

The house hadn't changed much since the time I'd been here. The photos were all the same and the room still smelt of sick humans.

"Bella, maybe you should take Nessie up now," Alice said to my mom. She nodded, beckoning for me to follow her up the stairs. Slowly, at human speed, I followed her, my dad trailing behind me.

Gently, she knocked on the door to his room before slowly opening it. The door didn't creak, as it had been opened and closed many times before. I entered the room, which, like the rest of the house, was exactly as I had remembered it.

There was still the small window, letting very little light in, with the low bed sitting underneath it. The room smelt terrible, something which I had never been able to get to. Unlike my father and mother, I couldn't completely stop breathing. And lying in the bed, with his wife sitting beside him and holding his hand, was my grandfather.

Sue looked up and her old face creased into a smile when she saw us.

"He's doing well today," she said in a low voice to my parents. "I was just about to give him some food."

They nodded as I approached the bed. The last time I had seen Grandpa Charlie, he had still been able to talk and walk slowly around the house. Now, he was confined to his bed like an invalid, hardly able to move his limbs, let alone walk. He had been reduced to a child, having other people taking care of him.

"Go on," my father murmured.

Fear wasn't an emotion I was used to. Even when I was less than a year old and the Volturi had visited my family I wasn't scared, because I knew I had my family around me. But now, what was stopping me?

Hesitantly, slower than I needed to, I brushed my fingertips against my grandpa's hand. His skin was like thin paper, and I felt like if I applied to much pressure, I would break through it. Grandpa Charlie's skin was hanging off his bones, that's all he was. Skin and bones.

I observed him more closely. His hair, or what was left of it, was white and transparent and there were many bald patches on his head. His eyes were half closed and his mouth wide open, revealing no teeth. When had he gotten like this? Gone was the grandpa I had known.

"You can say something to him," Mom said.

But what could I say? Here was the man who, through my mother, given life to me. I had known him for all of my life, and yet here I was, most likely on his deathbed, with nothing to say. _What_ could I say?

I felt a connection to him. His blood was flowing through me, and even though my mom didn't technically have blood flowing through her veins, his blood flowed through her as well. We were all connected in a way.

It's ironic, isn't it, how the human life cycle goes? Normal humans start off as helpless, tiny creatures that have to be cared constantly after coming out of their mother's womb. Gradually, they grow and learn to take care of themselves, learn how to deal with life and what is right and what is wrong. Then they go through a period of independence, of being an adult, until finally, they grow old as all things do. And they are reduced back to the state of being cared for constantly, only this time they have lived for so long and seen so many things.

"Can I show him instead?" I asked my mom, who nodded silently.

I reached out my hand to my grandpa's forehead, touching it with the lightest of touches. I conveyed to him that I had to leave, but that I would be back. It's short, but in that time, I feel as if I've connected with him more than I ever could.

_I'm ready to leave_, I tell my dad in my head. He inclines his head slightly and kisses my mom before leading me out the room.

_Goodbye, Grandpa Charlie_, I said in my head as I leave the room.

I don't stop when I reach the bottom of the stairs. I can see the concern on Jacob's face but I walk past him into the backyard. I start running then, into the forest until I find a fallen log and sit down on it.

And because my mother can't cry, I cry for her. Even though I'm half-vampire, the human trait of crying hasn't been lost on me. I cry and cry and cry, not even stopping when I feel a hand resting on my shoulder.

"Shh," my dad soothes me, bringing me closer into his chest. I sob against him, for all the time I could've spent with my grandpa which I've lost. For the certainty that soon – although I don't know exactly when – he'll die.

"Grandpa Charlie's going to die soon," I mumbled against my dad.

"Yes, he is," he replied, never one to hide anything from me.

"I'll miss him," I said.

"We all will, Nessie. We all will."

**~:~:~**

"Jacob, what did you put in this salad?" I asked curiously, half laughingly, poking around in my bowl. It's only then that I realised that Jake has been quiet for a whole two minutes. I looked up from the table to stare at him.

"Jake, what is it?" I asked him.

His face is still as stone, and he holds out his phone.

"Nessie, your mom just texted me. She says your grandpa just passed away."

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**AN: This is a story very close to my heart. A few months ago, I went overseas to visit my family, my grandfather included. He was living in a nursing home and was pretty much in the state I described. He couldn't talk or do anything himself, simply sit in a bed all day.**

**He passed away about a week ago.**

**This is in memory of him. In contrast to this story, I didn't know him very well. All I have are childhood memories of spending time with him overseas when I was younger, all of which I now remember with sadness. The rest of it was how it was for me; that was my last time seeing him and that was when I said goodbye for the last time.**

**I am going to concentrate on writing my other story now after a short break, and an update is just around the corner. Thank you to all my readers for being so patient with me. But I felt I had to do this, as this is my way of remembering my grandfather. Please review, it would mean a lot to me.**

_In memory of my grandfather_

_26__th__ of August, 2009_


End file.
